Alexander Guselnikov

Assessing the causes for WW1 Much like any other War, World War had many causes that had intertwined to create a disaster for everyone. In this essay I will be assessing the reasons for the death of so many people in the War that took place from 1914-1918, and choosing the most important from these: imperialism, Alliances, Balkans conflict, Arms and Naval Race and the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Firstly, the Alliance system also known as The Triple Entente included Britain France and Russia, and it was the bond between countries before the war that could have been described as a domino or chain reaction in the way that if one country went to War the others would be morally required to do so. On the other side of the war Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy too had made a more obligatory and stronger alliance. Unlike the cause I find to be the biggest (Imperialism), this increases the scale of the War by involving more and more countries and affects how quickly it erupts. For example, if there were fewer countries with fewer reasons of their own associated the war would it would have taken longer to happen and the scale of it would be far smaller. So since everyone was annoyed with the Kaiser, they all wanted to get into the war and finish him quicker rather than the opposite. The arms and naval race between the larger countries such as Britain and Germany from 1906-14 in particular, led to war, due to the intense rivalry between the two countries. Germany possessed a threat to Britain’s vast empire as it was the only country to have a navy nearly the size of England’s. Obviously the British felt threatened by this and formed the alliance discussed previously. As you can see without this case the Alliance system would have had less effect on the war. Not only did this factor create friction but it also created a parallel cause. Imperialism however, is also connected to this, Imperialism is when a country wants an empire, and the best way of doing so is War which requires a country to have a large army and navy. By 1914 every European country involved in the chaos was increasing their army, so much that in 1914 Germany had 2.2 million men and Russia with 1.2 million, also increasing friction leading to the War. The Balkans is an area possessed by the Ottoman Empire (at the time) and located near the Black Sea. Several countries surrounding it wanted to take the land for themselves from the feeble and fading Empire. These countries included Austria-Hungary and Russia. Obviously, neither of the countries wanted rivalry for the region as it would be better off to take it and lose fewer men or resources. In 1908 Austria seized Bosnia and Serbia in an attempt to get closer to the area, their excuse was that Serbia was getting too strong again. Back then, Russia backed down due to its own problems caused by the Russo-Japanese War. However closer to the World War, tension rose again and both countries looked for an excuse to fight each other besides greediness. Therefore, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was a perfect justification for War. Hence why that factor is connected to the whole saga between Austria-Hungary and Russia, also known as Imperialism. Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne and was shot by Gabriel Princip in what was supposed to be an attempt to free his own country. However the outcome was far worse, the murder gave pretty much every country the reason to go to War, and the Alliance system just reassured that factor. The assassination was merely a countdown to the War. Interviewed later in prison, he claimed that the start of the War had nothing to with the attempt and that it was a pure act of nationalism. Imperialism is the factor I think to have the responsibility for starting the bloodshed from 1914 to 1918. Imperialism is when a country wants to have an Empire, and as anyone can see Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia all went for it. Kaiser Wilhelm II even said that he wanted a “place in the sun” and also made it clear he wanted war in an interview with British reporters by insulting their nation, ”mad, mad, mad as march hares…”. This man can definitely not be friendly but only hostile. Russia wanted the Balkans and so did the Austrians. This all equalled friction and rivalry. To me it seems that the friction between the countries actually created the “earthquake” and that the assassination was just the trigger for the metaphorical gun. The arms and naval race was just an indicator that War was inevitable one way or another as long as Imperialism was present, because I personally believe that the most effective way of expanding a countries boundary is War, and to have an effective War with less losses in the end you need all the components; army, navy and rivalry which evidently has been present in Europe for a very long time. It was a disaster waiting to happen.